UPDATE 1-Russia eyes top-three merger to boost Svyazinvest

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MOSCOW, June 23 (Reuters) - The merger of state telecoms firm Svyazinvest with one of the top three operators would be the optimal path for the development of Svyazinvest's mobile business, Russia's Communications Minister Igor Shchyogolev said on Tuesday.

With a market share of around 30 percent each, the big three of Russian wireless include MTS (MBT.N), Vimpelcom (VIP.N) and MegaFon, which is partly owned by the Nordic region's biggest telecoms operator, TeliaSonera (TLSN.ST).

"The most optimal way is to merge (Svyazinvest) with one of the three operators in the 'Big Three'," Shchyogolev told a business conference, adding that the specifics of such a merger were not a matter for immediate discussion.

It was not immediately clear whether he envisaged a merger of the entire Svyazinvest holding, including its fixed line assets, with one of the wireless operators, or a merger of Svyazinvest's mobile assets with one of the wireless operators.

He said the aim of such a move would be to expand the position of the state telecoms giant on the mobile market.

An alternative would be the creation of Russia's fourth largest mobile operator by pooling Svyavinvest's mobile assets with one of the regional providers outside the big 3.

Local media reported this week that Svyazinvest is aiming to become Russia's fourth largest mobile phone operator [ID:nLJ114537], and Shchyogolev's remarks also indicate how the state could go about achieving this.

The Russian government, which wants to play a bigger role especially in the high-yielding mobile business, last month cleared the reorganisation of Svyazinvest under the umbrella of Rostelecom (ROS.N). [ID:nLC804981]

Svyazinvest is 75 percent minus one share owned by the government, while fixed-line provider Comstar (CMSTq.L), part of services conglomerate Sistema (SSAq.L), has the rest. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, writing by Simon Shuster, editing by James Kilner and Simon Jessop)